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Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

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Know Your Cover: Serviceberry

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By Larry Partridge | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Coordinator – Southern and Eastern U.P. of Michigan  Featured photo by: Iva Vagnerova One of my favorite springtime activities is planting fruit-bearing trees for wildlife. While it’s important to implement good forestry practices to make sure you’re providing the right structure and habitat, it certainly doesn’t hurt to throw in a bit of good eating as part of an overall strategy. Supplemental planting of soft-mast species can add a lot of value to a hunting spot. These tree species bring flowers, and thus pollinators to a site, produce food for a variety of...

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Conservation Organizations Partner with Domtar to Improve Forest Wildlife Habitat in Pennsylvania

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The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS), American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and Audubon Mid-Atlantic (AMA) are excited to partner with Domtar to improve habitats through active forest management and pulpwood sourcing. The project will improve habitat for game and non-game wildlife, using an innovative approach that creates landowner income and jobs in rural Pennsylvania.  A lack of critical habitat for birds and other wildlife has led to population declines of ruffed grouse (Pennsylvania’s state bird) and other imperiled forest birds. Specifically, a prevalence of closed-canopy, single-aged forests has resulted in too little...

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RGS & AWS Southern Appalachian Conservation Team Awarded $400,000 Agreement from USDA Forest Service

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The partner agreement will expand funding for RGS & AWS’ Forest Wildlife Specialist position in Virginia and enable RGS & AWS to hire two new seasonal Forest Wildlife Technicians to assist with field work. RGS & AWS staff will develop three active forest management project proposals on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, assess 90,000 acres of forestland, implement 3,000 acres of forest measurements, and complete one 35,000-acre watershed-scaled environmental assessment through the Forest Service’s National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) process. In addition, RGS & AWS will provide a sub-award to contractors to complete NEPA writing and analysis for the...

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RMEF Strikes Major Conservation Agreement with Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society

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Read the original article on RMEF.org MISSOULA, Mont. — Help is on the way for elk, ruffed grouse, woodcock, turkey, whitetail deer and many other wildlife species across the Great Lakes and Appalachian States.  The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) entered into a three-year conservation agreement to maintain and enhance habitat within priority areas across Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, while improving hunting opportunity. “This agreement allows two long-time, hunter-based conservation organizations to pool our combined energy and resources to carry out meaningful and measurable conservation work,” said...

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RGS & AWS Partners with Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust on Habitat Restoration Project in Massachusetts

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Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust is a recipient of a Cornell Land Trust Grant for 2023. The Cornell Lab’s Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative awarded grants to 14 land trusts throughout the country to assist with management and restoration of private protected lands, integrate bird conservation into prioritization and planning, and develop partnerships within the birding community to amplify conservation efforts. Mount Grace’s work funded by this grant will focus on Guiney Memorial Forest, a 33-acre wildlife sanctuary in Royalston. This small sanctuary has various habitat types, including maturing white pine, hemlock, and hardwood forest as well as a diverse understory,...

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RGS & AWS Awarded $110,000 from New York Natural Resources Conservation Service Grant

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The New York Natural Resources Conservation Service awarded the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) Northeast conservation team a $110,000 Conservation Innovation Grant to implement critical forest habitat work on public and private land surrounding the Helderberg Bird Conservation Area in Albany and Schoharie Counties in New York.  The Helderberg Forest Resiliency Initiative will coordinate and promote habitat management work across public, private and conservation easement ownerships as well as produce new monitoring and mapping capacity to analyze forest age and diversity at a landscape scale. The project will include:  300 acres of forest habitat work – enhancing...

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